With over a decade in hospitality, Meri Klobas, Restaurant Manager at SEVA Experience, shares how care-led leadership and sustainable thinking are modernising the restaurant experience from the inside out
How would you describe yourself?
I build restaurants the way some people build trust: quietly, with intention and never in a rush. With well over a decade in hospitality, my real work happens in the details most overlook: the timing of light, the tone of a greeting and the sourcing behind what’s served. My leadership is deep-rooted in intuition but anchored in systems while balancing people, process and purpose. I believe that hospitality can be a vehicle for something deeper: sustainability that’s lived, not labelled; teams that co-create, not comply and experiences that leave the future a little better than we found it. My kind of leadership doesn’t ask for attention. It earns it. Slowly, thoughtfully, and for the long haul.
What unique leadership challenge or transformative moment in your career most significantly shaped your approach to restaurant management?
It wasn’t one dramatic event but a slow, cinematic realisation. The best moments in hospitality are invisible. The way music softens just as the sun disappears, or the way waitstaff choose stillness before stepping toward a table. These aren’t accidents. They’re choreography. That shift in awareness changed everything for me. I stopped merely managing and started curating not just staff or systems but energy as well. That flow, that feeling, is what we’re really serving. And once you realise that, it changes how you build, lead and care not just for the now, but for the future you’re shaping with every decision.
In what ways have you adapted your management style to address the evolving challenges in the industry?
I’ve stopped managing from the floor plan and started managing from the gut. This industry doesn’t need more efficiency; it needs more empathy and more responsibility. My leadership today is less about authority, more about attunement. I pay attention to how people feel when showing up to work. We talk openly and we listen deeply. And beneath all of it is a quiet commitment to doing better not just for the team, but for the systems we’re a part of. Hospitality, after all, can be a model for care-led change if we allow it to be.
What’s the most challenging aspect of bridging communication between front-of-house and kitchen staff?
They speak different dialects of the same commitment. One side whispers in gestures; the other communicates in flames. The challenge isn’t language but translating the pride beneath it. I build rituals that connect these two worlds: shared humour, micro-celebrations, even something as simple as a collective Spotify playlist. Because when trust builds across the pass, something rare happens and collaboration becomes culture. And in that space, you can begin to co-create a work environment where people don’t just survive shifts, but they grow through them.
How do you balance the creative vision of your chefs with the financial realities of running a profitable restaurant?
You can’t put soul on the chopping block, but you can plate it strategically. I work side by side with chefs to co-create dishes that carry both intention and margin. Creativity doesn’t have to be sacrificed; it has to be channelled. Often, the most inspired offerings are born from constraints: sourcing locally, reducing waste and using the whole ingredient. Sustainability forces us to ask smarter questions, and those questions tend to lead to better answers. Financial limitations can be invitations to reimagine luxury, to serve with purpose and to build menus that honour both the planet and the people we’re feeding.
With the increasing focus on mental health in the culinary industry, what specific measures have you implemented to support your staff’s well-being?
Having worked in places where “push through” was the only option, I made a conscious choice to rewrite that story. By implementing structured check-ins, reset days without penalties and an open-door culture that doesn’t just talk about well-being but prioritises it. Sustainability isn’t only about compost bins or sourcing; it’s about the people, too. If your team burns out, your values collapse. But when people feel seen, heard, and safe, they show up differently, and standards don’t drop. They deepen.
Can you describe a time when you had to mediate a conflict between a chef and a customer?
A customer once said that the signature dish “tasted like a yoga mat.” Our chef took it personally because every dish is personal. I stepped in to tell a story about the dish and offered an alternative, and held space for both perspectives. That moment wasn’t just about salvaging a review, it was about modelling a culture where listening overrides ego. The customer returned the next week. And the chef? He started viewing feedback as part of co-creation, not as a threat to identity. That’s where real evolution happens.
What strategies do you employ to keep your restaurant relevant and ahead of trends in a rapidly changing culinary landscape?
I pay more attention to behaviour than to hashtags. Trends are loud, taste is quiet. Instead of asking “What’s hot?” I ask “What’s missing?” in the food scene, in the culture, in people’s lives. Designing experiences that respond to longing, not algorithms. Sustainability plays into this too; it’s not just what we serve, it’s how and why we serve it. Customers are craving meaning, not marketing. When we lead with substance, whether it’s a hyper-seasonal dish or a regenerative sourcing choice, we stay relevant because we stay real.
What emerging innovations in cuisine, technology, sustainability, or guest experiences are you most passionate about exploring and implementing?
I’m drawn to innovations that deepen connection rather than distract from it. A playlist that shifts with the day. A supplier map that customers can explore. A dish that tells you where its roots came from. I believe sustainability works best when it’s felt, not exhibited. From zero-waste prep to carbon-conscious menu design and integrating better practices into our daily rhythm, not to check a box, but to rewrite how restaurants show up in the world. The future of hospitality isn’t just service, it’s stewardship.
